An army of gay/nazi bikers make their engines roar and ride the way to pain/pleasure as sexual and sadistic symbols are intercut into the dazing chaos and rhythmic experiences of this underground film by cult director Anger.

[VIDEO ESSAY] Evocatively transgressive and subversively poetic, "Scorpio Rising" is a cinematic rebel yell against the fiercely anti-gay hypocrisies of American culture that still dog society in the 21st century.

This movie mixes up things I love and then makes them seem gay, I don't know about you, but I find that insulting, yet I'm interested by the way these… MoreThis movie mixes up things I love and then makes them seem gay, I don't know about you, but I find that insulting, yet I'm interested by the way these things are combined.

Ivan Descartin

Being one of the more truly divisive films that have since become cult classics, "Scorpio Rising" has always been a curiosity for me, despite of its… MoreBeing one of the more truly divisive films that have since become cult classics, "Scorpio Rising" has always been a curiosity for me, despite of its slightly icky homosexual theme. Indeed, after watching the film in its 28-minute entirety, I can definitely see where numerous film enthusiasts are coming from when they hail the film as an influential piece of underground cinema. Sure, with its psychedelic amalgamation of religious iconography, Nazism and the rising 'rebel' culture of the '60s, "Scorpio Rising" is quite effective in terms of pushing forth a distorted state of mind. But for me, the film lacks the ultimate gut-punch, which Kenneth Anger, its director, could have easily pulled off, especially with the often understated power of terseness on his side.
As an experimental film, the film surely has some intriguing moments (the church scene is one of those), but ultimately, I was left quite unsure about the film's focus and where it truly resides. Yes, it is a given that Kenneth Anger is seemingly trying to assert the fact that riders consider their hobby as nothing short of a religion just like how Christians herald Christianity and Nazis highly regard Nazism. But hell, I haven't felt the sense of cohesion needed for such a potentially compelling commentary on hobbyist obsession. And why add the fictitious aspect of homosexuality in the film? For me, whatever the context of this aspect may be, I think it was just injected so that, you know, the film can take on a new layer of pseudo-complexity.
Constructively speaking, instead of making the film a befuddling experimental/mood piece just like what it is, Anger could have potentially made "Scorpio Rising" a full-fledged anthropological film about the motorists' alternative lifestyle and whether or not they can bode well with the fabric of mainstream Americana. With that, I think the film could have easily expressed what "Easy Rider" has powerfully done so just 5 years after it. I did enjoy the soundtrack, though. Honestly, I could listen to the songs at any given time.
At the end of the day, it's quite easy to see the film's encompassing visual influence on other filmmakers, notably Martin Scorsese and David Lynch. But what is quite difficult now to make sense of is why the film is considered 'great'. If you remove the stock footage from "The Living Bible: Last Journey to Jerusalem" short and half of the film's music, what we're merely left with is a plodding little film that has its sights on nothing but tires and leather boots and its destination to nowhere but the directionless path to pretense.

Conner Rainwater

Extremely heavy handed and opinionated, but from a visual standpoint it's amazing. The creativity and camerawork is very ahead of its time. What ruins it… MoreExtremely heavy handed and opinionated, but from a visual standpoint it's amazing. The creativity and camerawork is very ahead of its time. What ruins it is the message that is so obvious and overbearing, you can't help but be turned off by the assumptions it makes about biker gangs and masculinity. Maybe it was more interesting back in the 70s, but it just seems like propaganda now.

Leo L

Great!

Eric Broome

Deduct a half-star if razzle-dazzle editing doesn't intrigue you, and add a star if you're a gay man with a biker fetish.

Are you sure?

Deleting a title from your collection is like throwing away a DVD.

You will no longer be able to watch this title on Flixster or any other UltraViolet service.